Are wealth-protection trusts any good?

Wealth-protection trusts have failed to live up to their reputation over the past few years. Can they stage a comeback?

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Capital Gearing Trust, Personal Assets, Ruffer and RIT Capital Partners all describe themselves as “wealth protection” trusts. Personal Assets goes a step further, claiming that “Our policy is to protect and increase (in that order) the value of shareholders’ funds per share over the long term”.

For the best part of the past two decades, these funds have done just that, but in the past five years, they have started to struggle. Take Personal Assets. Over the last five years, the trust has produced a net asset value (NAV) return of 26.7%, compared with 33.4% for the UK Retail Price Index

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Rupert Hargreaves
Contributor and former deputy digital editor of MoneyWeek

Rupert is the former deputy digital editor of MoneyWeek. He's an active investor and has always been fascinated by the world of business and investing. His style has been heavily influenced by US investors Warren Buffett and Philip Carret. He is always looking for high-quality growth opportunities trading at a reasonable price, preferring cash generative businesses with strong balance sheets over blue-sky growth stocks.

Rupert has written for many UK and international publications including the Motley Fool, Gurufocus and ValueWalk, aimed at a range of readers; from the first timers to experienced high-net-worth individuals. Rupert has also founded and managed several businesses, including the New York-based hedge fund newsletter, Hidden Value Stocks. He has written over 20 ebooks and appeared as an expert commentator on the BBC World Service.